Expert Advice

By all accounts, the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago was a great success. The weather was perfect, the options many, and the crowd was sizable.

Fans of E.L. Doctorow had an opportunity to hear him speak at the former Chicago Public Library, now serving as a cultural center. When asked how much research he did for his historical fiction The March, he answered in the simplest terms. He did just enough, he said. Too much could sink the prose, so he did just enough. It sounds logical, simple, but how does the budding author know when they have gone too far? Like pornography, you know it when you see it, but you cannot define it. That is what makes writing so difficult, even though it seems easy on the surface.

Another interesting point that he made related to his characters. Some hopeful novelists will create note cards and genealogical flow charts to map out their characters, but Doctorow takes the most basic approach. He knows his characters, which makes sense, since he has created them. In his mind, he sees how they look, what they wear, even how they think. All of this happens on a subconscious level, so that as he writes, the prose runs along and fits the character. Sure, it sounds like a no-brainer. Create a fictional figure and run with it, but to internalize each person takes more than a few brain cells.

Writing is a creative endeavor, akin to painting. You can take drawing classes as easily as you can take writing classes. A teacher can tell you what to do, but you may not have the talent to do it, no matter how easy the instructor makes it sound. How many times have you heard the adage 'Show, don't tell'? Three little words that sum up novel writing, but it is so hard to accomplish the task.